This star is wrong

Chapter 319 The production of "Spirited Away" is completed, looking for theater release channels
The production of "Spirited Away" has been basically completed.

Fang Xing has already seen the first cut version, and the overall effect is quite satisfactory.

The total duration of the first cut version is 150 minutes, which is a little longer than that of the movies released in theaters.

However, it is normal for the first cut to be a bit longer.

Fang Xing also hired a team that is good at editing animated films, and cut it again, and asked to cut the film to about 120 minutes.

In order to keep a tight rhythm, current theater movies usually limit the duration to 90 minutes.

However, the 120-minute movie is not too long.

For the movie "Spirited Away", it is a more appropriate duration, and it is about 125 minutes including the opening and closing credits.

The two-hour duration will not make the audience feel too procrastinated, nor too tight.

Once the final cut is out, it's time to start preparing for the show.

Fang Xing plans to release it during the 10.1 long holiday, so during the editing period, he needs to find a release channel.

The theater film industry has a set of standard procedures.

Usually, a film needs three links from production to release.

Production, production, distribution.

Ark Culture is the producer of "Spirited Away", and Liang Jing Studio is the producer.

At present, Ark Culture has not obtained the "film distribution business license", and cannot distribute movies yet. It needs to find another company that has a distribution license to cooperate.

In fact, even if Ark Culture has a film distribution license, it still needs to find a film and television company to cooperate in distribution without the resources and channels of theaters, publicity, and local promotion.

The water in the movie theater industry is very deep.

Ark Culture is far from reaching the strength to be able to release movies alone.

Because the work of film distribution is not that simple.

The distributor needs to copy the movie and send it to theaters across the country to apply for a key and schedule.

In addition, we must do publicity and purchase advertisements.

Movie posters and stand signs in movie theaters in major cities across the country need to be arranged by someone, and these are the work of the distributor.

Therefore, with the scale of Ark Culture, it is impossible to cover so many cities across the country.

In addition, during the film's release period, people are also sent to film theaters across the country to do activities, do publicity, watch the scenes, monitor tickets, and so on.

These tasks can only be done by specialized distribution companies, and general production companies cannot do them at all.

Therefore, if "Spirited Away" wants to be released in theaters, it has to find a distribution company to cooperate.

The stronger the strength of the distribution company, the more publicity resources the film can get, and the distribution company needs to fight for local promotion and advertising space.

Of course, the stronger the distribution company, the more movie accounts will be required.

There is no free lunch in the world. If you want to get more distribution resources, you need to pay more money.

Ark Culture has already had two popular TV series, but they have not achieved success on the big screen.

Therefore, in the film industry, Ark Culture is actually equivalent to starting from scratch.

Of course, "Wulin Biography" and "The Beginning" have been released successively. Fang Xing already has some contacts in film and television.

At least he won't be blinded by blinding his eyes.

Moreover, many film and television companies have taken the initiative to ask whether Ark Culture has any new projects.

"Spirited Away" has actually been in production for more than two years, so it is not considered a new project, but it will be released soon, and a publishing company is needed to cooperate.

Therefore, when "Spirited Away" was being edited, Fang Xing arranged for the company's publicity department to contact film and television companies in the industry to find possibilities for cooperation.

Relying on two popular TV series, Ark Culture has made many film and television companies remember this name.

Therefore, many film and television companies are willing to contact, but they are not so active when they hear that it is a film project, and it is an animated film.

If Fang Xing is filming a TV series this time, there will be many film and television companies rushing to cooperate.

However, movies are completely different.

TV dramas and movies are two very different industries.

It is very difficult for directors, celebrities, and film and television companies who have thrived in the film industry to enter the film industry, and many of them end up in failure.

In the television industry, as long as a top-notch star is invited to play the male lead, it doesn't matter how the plot is, at least it won't lose money, and some fans are willing to pay for it.

After all, the cost of TV series is relatively low, and if you don't even rush to follow the series, you can watch the complete episodes for free.

However, it is different when it comes to the film industry.

Every movie ticket is real money.

Regardless of how popular a top star is, how popular he is, or how crazy his fans are, as long as he goes to a movie in theaters, he will be a bastard who has gone out of fashion. Whether he is swimming or not is clear at a glance.

Therefore, the difficulty of the film circle is much greater than that of the TV circle.

Even a lot of TV dramas are so popular, they release blockbusters every year, and the top trending searches every day are not easy to use in the movie circle.

Therefore, after proving their strength in the TV circle, if they want to enter the big screen, they still have to start from scratch and won't get much preferential treatment.

Of course, the name Ark Culture is not completely useless.

At least the issuing company can sit down and talk about the project seriously, instead of sweeping the proposal directly into the trash can.

During the period, Fang Xing took the first cut version of "Spirited Away" and personally talked with several film and television distribution companies.

However, it is more general.

Because the distribution company lacks confidence in animated films, and "Spirited Away" is not yet a refined animation style.

Nowadays, animated movies are popular with exquisite character modeling, the purpose is to make the audience feel that the characters are beautiful at first glance.

However, "Spirited Away" does not have this exquisite style of painting. In the current animation film environment, it is not so mainstream.

Although the plot looks good, the distribution company has no confidence in the film.

Although not confident, it is not completely uncooperative.

However, due to the general interest in films, the conditions for opening are generally relatively low.

According to the guiding opinions of the film industry regulatory department, the combined account sharing ratio of producers and distributors should not be less than 43% of the net box office in principle.

Therefore, for movies released in theaters, 57% will be divided by theaters and theaters first, and the rest will be divided by producers and distributors.

Ark Culture is the producer, and when Liang Jing Studio invested in "Spirited Away", they had already signed a share ratio.

Therefore, Liangjing Studio is only responsible for making animations, and Ark Culture is responsible for the rest.

In the remaining 43% of accounts, how much the producer and distributor will share depends on how the two parties negotiate.

In addition, there are publicity fees.

Usually, the publicity fee is borne by the issuer, and the amount will be written in the contract.

How much the publisher is willing to pay for publicity depends on how much they value the film.

So far, Fang Xing has chatted with several distribution companies. The conditions offered by these distribution companies are very general, and the publicity fee is very small, but the ratio of account sharing is very high.

In the film industry, this situation is very common.

You must know that in the film industry, less than one-tenth of the films produced each year are eligible to be shown in theaters.

Out of ten films, only one has the chance to be released in theaters.

What about the remaining nine films?
Don't these movies compete for theaters?

Of course there is competition.

Therefore, the reality is that ten films compete for a chance to be released in theaters.

In order to get this opportunity, many producers can only take the initiative to lower the conditions and give the distributor more share.

The competition in the film industry is so cruel.

The situation of Ark Culture is still good, at least as soon as it comes up, we can talk about the specific accounts and details of the issue.

In other words, "Spirited Away" has already defeated 90% of the movies before it was released, and has a chance to be released in theaters.

All that needs to be discussed is the split ratio.

However, the distribution ratios and publicity resources given by these distribution companies are similar.

After all, the distribution company has a mature set of criteria for judging movies. There are conventions for what kind of movie, what kind of accounting and promotional resources should be given.

For a company like Ark Culture that has never proven its strength on the big screen, it is difficult to get good resources just by relying on its fame in the TV circle.

……

On the contrary, if it is a big director in the film industry, the situation is completely different if the film is produced.

For some movies with promising box office prospects, such as the Spring Festival movie of a certain director, in order to grab the project and fight for distribution agency rights, the distributor will take the initiative to bear the distribution costs, and even promise to guarantee the box office.

Of course, this kind of situation where the distributor promises to guarantee the box office will only happen to directors and producers who have proven their box office appeal on the big screen.

It is impossible for a company like Ark Culture to dabble in the big screen for the first time to be favored by the film and television industry.

……

While looking for distribution channels, Liangjing Studio is also making final revisions and productions.

After what happened last time, the hearts of Liang Jing's studio have been scattered.

Some people want money, some people want better works.

Of course, when dealing with the project of "Spirited Away", the studio team is still very concerned.

Because the final results of this project will determine how much money they can get, and how much investment from film and television companies they can get in the future.

……

The news about the search for distribution cooperation for the Ark Culture animated film "Spirited Away" spread quickly in the film and television industry.

There are also some film and television companies and distribution companies who come to them on their own initiative.

It's just that the publishing company that will take the initiative to come to the door is not very strong in itself.

The ability of the distribution company is very important when the movie is released.

Because, after the movie is released, how many films can be arranged, and at what time the films will be arranged. A powerful distribution company has the ability to influence the theater's film arrangement.

Assume that, for two films, the proportion of film scheduling is 50%.

The filming of one of them is mainly concentrated in the morning and noon.

The filming of the other part is mainly concentrated at night.

Don't think about it, if the quality of the movies is not much different, the box office of the second movie will definitely beat the first one.

After all, most audiences watch movies after six or seven in the evening, and the morning shows may be booked out with just one movie ticket.

Therefore, the strength of the issuing company is also very important.

……

Among the many cooperative companies, Penguin Video has the most cooperation.

After all, the first two TV series were broadcast exclusively on Penguin Video.

This relationship will make it easier for both parties to discuss cooperation.

However, Penguin Video is not in charge of film distribution.

Penguin Pictures is responsible for film distribution. Strictly speaking, it is not the same company as Penguin Video, but they both belong to the same business group.

Li Xueying, Vice President of Penguin Video, has also heard about "Spirited Away" seeking a theater release channel.

However, because Penguin Video is not in charge of film distribution, Li Xueying did not contact Ark Culture in the first place.

Of course, if "Spirited Away" fails to be released in theaters in the end, it is possible to settle for the next best thing and release it online.

Therefore, as vice president of Penguin Video, Li Xueying will naturally pay a little attention to this project.

This afternoon.

Li Xueying took the lead in inviting Fang Xing, Qiao Yinghong and other high-level executives of Ark Culture, and wanted to introduce the high-level understanding of Penguin Films.

It's the appointed time.

Fang Xing, Qiao Yinghong and other core members of the Ark culture came to the golf club that Li Xueying had booked.

After the meeting, Li Xueying took the initiative to introduce: "Mr. Fang, Mr. Qiao, come here. Let me introduce first. This is Zhang Changfeng, the president of Penguin Pictures, and Xu Guangyi, the general manager of the investment department of Penguin Group."

Fang Xing stepped forward to shake hands with two groups of senior executives of the Penguin Group, getting to know each other.

Originally, Fang Xing thought that he was going to meet the top executives of Penguin Films this time, but he didn't expect that there was also the general manager of the investment department.

Xu Guangyi's name is the general manager of the investment department, but his rank is actually the same as that of Zhang Changfeng, the president of Penguin Pictures.

In fact.

Ark Culture is not the first contact with Penguin Films.

As early as a week ago, the "Spirited Away" project team of Ark Culture had contacted the distribution team of Penguin Pictures, and also talked about the "Spirited Away" project.

However, the chat situation is similar to other distribution companies, and there is nothing special about it.

Of course, the only contact with the "Spirited Away" project team was the project manager of the distribution department of Penguin Pictures.

The project has yet to be handed over to Penguin executives.

This time, the president of Penguin Films mainly issued an invitation, probably because he had new ideas for this project.

Of course, Fang Xing was not in such a hurry on the "Spirited Away" project.

If there is a good cooperation plan, cooperate, if not, then let it go.

Zhang Changfeng, President of Penguin Pictures, did not talk about the project at the beginning, but first talked about playing golf: "Does Mr. Fang usually play golf?"

Fang Xing turned his head and glanced at the emerald green grass in front of him, and replied, "You didn't play well."

"I don't play well either, mainly to exercise my muscles and bones." Zhang Changfeng said with an easy-going smile.

After playing golf for a while, we slowly talked about the project.

"I heard that Fang always wants to release an animated film?" Zhang Changfeng took the initiative to bring up the topic.

"Yes, the distribution manager of your company has seen the film." Fang Xing replied casually.

"In the film and television industry, there are many distribution companies that want to cooperate with Mr. Fang. Why haven't they decided on the distribution company yet?" Zhang Changfeng leaned on his cue and turned his head to ask.

"The reason is very simple, it's just that the conditions were not agreed." Fang Xing didn't hide it either.

"Oh? What are Mr. Fang's expectations for this film? The total box office." Zhang Changfeng asked.

Fang Xing smiled, and replied: "This is not easy to answer, the number is too big, Mr. Zhang thinks I am joking. I am afraid that Mr. Zhang will take it seriously."

"Ha ha……"

Zhang Changfeng smiled heartily, and replied: "It's okay, you tell me, according to your expectations, I have heard of any number."

Fang Xing also put down his club, looked at him for a while, and replied, "Let's start with one billion."

Zhang Changfeng didn't show any surprise when he heard this number.

It is not normal for people who dare to enter the big screen to have no dreams in their hearts.

He thought about it for a while and said, "If your expectations are so high, it's really difficult for domestic publishing companies to meet your requirements."

Of course Fang Xing understood this.

Because the higher the expected box office, the higher the publicity fee that needs to be spent.

However, if the publicity and distribution costs are reduced, once the film box office hits the street, it is possible that the publicity and distribution costs will not be recovered.

Especially for such an animated film, no distribution company is willing to take such a high risk and spend so much publicity and distribution costs.

(End of this chapter)